The Scimitar GT Thread

[mik]

I didn’t even open this Fred as I am happy to admit I thought this was the only Scimitar.



Looks nice - in a classic way.

[Sundayjumper]

I'm just jealous that I need wet leaves to start a one tyre fire

Fat rubber = no fun

Keep an eye on ebay for some spacesavers and stick a pair of those on the back. I think they're 125 width, you'll have no problems

[Jobbo]

I have to admit that, while I was aware of the SE4 Scimitars I always thought the SE5 was basically the same thing with an shooting brake rear end. But the body appears entirely different, and Wikipedia suggests the chassis isn't even the same. Always loved the SE5 shape; my grandmother had a lady friend who had moved over to Majorca for most of the year but kept a house here and a 1973 SE5 in turquoise as her UK car. She always had an amazing tan. So SJ, make sure you get down to the spray-tan shop.

[Beany]

I'm just jealous that I need wet leaves to start a one tyre fire

Fat rubber = no fun

Keep an eye on ebay for some spacesavers and stick a pair of those on the back. I think they're 125 width, you'll have no problems

Might be a bit too far the other way, that.

Much like my tankslappers

[Sundayjumper]

I've joined the Scimitar owners forum and received a warm welcome. I get the feeling there's a lot of beards. But that's OK for this kind of car, you don't run a 50-ish year old car if you're scared of getting your hands dirty so there's loads of technical knowledge on there.

My car was known to exist but hadn't been active in the club recently. Someone dug out a couple of photos of it at Curborough in 2010. Looks like it's not changed at all.

[Rich B]

It looks too modern for those wheels even though it isn't!

[jamcg]

Reminds me of the volvo p1800, which is no bad thing

[Sundayjumper]

It looks too modern for those wheels even though it isn't!

I'm torn on the wheels. I do like the steels for the originality, but I also like minilites (or similar), like so:





But not fussed about wire wheels. A bit too fiddly.

[Rich B]

I'm not a huge fan of wire wheels either, but I do like it on silver wheels.

[Sundayjumper]

Back home from a 300 mile round trip. I think I've done OK. The car came with a stack or receipts & a CD of photos of the restoration in 2009. The photos add a lot of provenance to this kind of car. There's also a sticker on the door jamb from JLR - it was in the museum at Gaydon ??

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[DeskJockey]

Excellent.

Is the roof line of the Scimitar on the trailer below the Touareg's?

[jamcg]

Nice bit of provenance that sticker. Hope you have a great time with it

[GG.]

Back home from a 300 mile round trip. I think I've done OK. The car came with a stack or receipts & a CD of photos of the restoration in 2009. The photos add a lot of provenance to this kind of car. There's also a sticker on the door jamb from JLR - it was in the museum at Gaydon ??


86AE90B0-99AD-496F-9AD4-1F71845A76A4.jpeg


88A2AA91-1AD7-4821-B965-06494A69D47B.jpeg

Interesting sticker - wonder if it was required as collateral for JLR borrowings. Credit agreements on moveable chattels or equipment sometime require a ‘plaque’ to put third parties on notice...

[Sundayjumper]

I've managed to do a small amount of fettling over the weekend. In no particular order:

Leaving it to idle on the drive for a while, it spluttered and cut out. It had run out of fuel. Now, being an old car, it has a mechanical fuel pump, and if the engine is not running at a decent speed (like when you're trying to start it....) it won't pump enough fuel to prime the carb. I had to resort to pouring fuel straight into the top of the carb, firing it up, it dies after a second, more fuel, fire it up, etc. about half a dozen times before it would run properly. Note to self - do not let it run dry again !

Also it turns out it has huge fuel tank, 21¼ gallons, just over 96 litres ! That's standard, it's not been modified.

The handbook is good. It includes torque settings for the head bolts. You don't get that in the handbook for a modern car ! The first thing on the "every 1000 miles" checklist is "top up engine oil". Not check engine oil, top up engine oil.

The rear brakes were seized 'on' as if the handbrake was permanently on. I went into that all geared up for a fight. If a drum brake mechanism is seized it can be an utter b*******stard getting the drum off. But I simply loosened the adjuster a few turns and all was well ! Everything inside seems in good order so it's a bit odd that it was stuck.

I drove it properly for the first time today - all the way to Tesco to buy fuel. The brakes aren't great and seem to grab a bit, and the clutch judders when pulling away, this is all hopefully due to lack of use. On the way back I got up to an amazing 55mph, and tried out the overdrive for the first time, which seems to be working perfectly. So that's another bit of good news. The gear change is atrocious though. I'll need to do something about that. I'm sure the gearbox is fine, it's just a very very worn linkage.

But underneath it all, it feels like it should be quite nice to drive. One day.

[Sundayjumper]

Nice easy job completed today, exhaust trims. The tail pipes were plain stainless steel, with a 45 degree slash cut, but neither of them straight ! The o/s one very noticeably. And not just a matter of rotating the exhaust.

So I ordered a pair of slip-on trims, cut the pipes back slightly and have just put them on. Much smarter.

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[jamcg]

Looks tidy, what secures them on?

[Sundayjumper]

Faith

Just kidding. They're a snug fit over the tailpipe, and there's a grub screw underneath to clamp it on. I might even drill a hole and stick a pop rivet in to be make sure it stays in place.